>As a proud new owner of a basket-case TR3A, I was wondering what the
collective
>opinion is of what is the best way to get down to bare metal?
Answer: It depends. See below for less annoying answer.
>I've heard that using some kind of plastic beads or something is supposed
to do the
> least amount of damage to the underlying metal. Is that something the
home user can
> do, or is it strictly for the professionals?
<snip some other methods...>
>I very much appreciate your comments. I have only been following this list
for a
>couple days, and I am already excited for the possibilities. I am in way
over my head,
> and I am going to need HELP!
My recommendation is to either leave it to the professionals or take a deep
breath and dive in with both feet. But here is some general advice:
Blasting: There are lots of materials that can be used for blasting and
they are intended for a wide range of applications, as you might expect.
With the wrong abrasive material you could easily do extensive damage to
your panels. My (very limited) experience here suggests that this is better
suited for de-rusting exhaust manifolds, suspension parts, wheels, and the
like. And it can make quite a mess in the garage, driveway or where ever
you decide to do this. Not the best bang for the buck for stripping panels.
Chemicals: Go to a body shop supply house and get the good stuff. There is
a reason that it costs a bit more. Then spend some money on decent
protective clothing and some towels to stuff under the garage door into the
house so you won't kill off the pets and loved ones. My experience is that
this works pretty well, but it's not a miracle cure. Pro secret from my
body shop instructor: EZ-Off oven cleaner. No kidding. Doesn't work on
all paints, but when it does work it's a snap and that lemon fresh scent...
Sanding: Lots of work, but it's what I use most often. Ask yourself why
you want to see bare metal (and wait for a good answer) before you sign
yourself up for unneeded work. If the paint on a panel is not chipped or
cracking, think about just sanding to a nice uniform surface and then
priming and painting. This assumes, of course that you can be sure that
there it's not coving something that needs to be repaired. This is a big if
and I could write another long post on this topic alone, but this is just my
bias. If the metal is not rusted and the paint is just badly oxidized,
leave it.
Bare metal: It will rust before your very eyes. Yes, in just a few hours.
Plan on priming/sealing/rustprofing immediately after stripping. And don't
forget chemically stripped bare metal will probably need to be sanded before
you will be able to get your primer to really bond well.
Stripping panels: While you are at the body shop supply house, buy some
good silicone/wax remover. Then before you touch the car with sand paper:
1. Clean with soap and water. 2. Clean with the stuff you bought at the
store. If there is stuff like WD40 over spray on the panel, it is quite
easy to sand it right into the grooves in bare metal. Once there, it is
really tough to remove and will cause any paint you spray to fish-eye. Bad
news!
Learning about body work: The number one, very best, can't say enough good
things about it way of learning is to look up your local Vocational Training
school and see if they teach body work. Sign up for all you can take.
How long will it take: Time your self when working on the first panel,
count up the panels and then multiply. Then triple that number and you will
have a good starting guess of how long it will really take. Oh, and then
double that number again for masking and priming. And again for final
sanding and painting and buffing. And again for reassembling the car...
Painting a car in a garage: Can be done and look really, really nice?
Absolutely. Will it be a 100% flawless show car? No. It just not possible
to get a PERFECT finish without a real paint booth.
Hope that helps. Hope it wasn't too long...
Cheers,
Jeff
'65 TR4A
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